Be it known that I, George Brake, a citizen of The United States, residing at 315 Brady Drive, Dickson, Tenn. 37055 have invented a new and useful xe2x80x9cTank Support System of Gas Grillxe2x80x9d.
This invention relates to a tank support and more particularly to a propane gas tank support system for supporting a propane gas tank on a gas grill.
Preparing meals by cooking meats, vegetables and other items on an outdoor grill has become a way of life throughout the world. Historically, charcoal grills were the first product of this type to achieve wide spread commercial acceptance. Gas-fired grills using lava rock and ceramic briquettes followed shortly thereafter. Gas fired grills traditionally are fueled using propane gas which is contained in a portable gas tank. The tank is generally supported on the frame of the grill and a valve attaches the gas supply line to the burner section of the grill. The tank is portable so that, when the propane supply is exhausted, the tank can be removed from the grill frame, carried independently of the grill to a refueling station, replenished and returned to the grill to be reinstalled. The tank being portable eliminates the need to carry the entire grill to the refueling station.
Most outdoor gas grills are designed to move about to various locations. Generally, the grills have a cart that includes wheels on one end and a handle on the other end so that the handle can be lifted and the cart rolled about to different locations on the wheels attached to the frame. Lifting the cart to roll it to a new location, moving the cart over rough stones, garden paths or down steps can cause the tank to shift about on the cart. For that reason, it has been desirable in the past to have a device that would latch or secure the gas tank to the frame of the grill. Such a system, of necessity, must have some mechanism for releasing the tank so that the tank could be refilled. However, devices in the prior art for attaching the tank to the grill are generally very cumbersome and often require tools to assemble and disassemble. Furthermore, such latching devices often become rusted and hard to disengage because generally a tank is only removed every one or two years, assuming the grill is not used daily.
What is needed then is a better system for attaching and disengaging the gas tank to a gas grill. Such a system is presently missing in the marketplace.
The invention is a device for attaching a fuel tank to the leg of the gas grill frame. The device includes an attaching bracket for attaching the device to the leg of the gas grill frame and a tank clasp for releasably engaging a gas tank that is positioned on the gas grill frame. The attaching bracket is shaped and designed to connect to the leg of the gas grill frame. Generally, a hole is provided in the leg of the gas grill frame at the proper height for a standard 20-pound liquid propane gas cylinder of standard configuration. A boss is provided on the inside of the bracket to fit into the hole on the frame leg to properly position the device. The tank clasp of the device is movably connected to the attaching bracket. The tank clasp has legs has project outwardly away from each other and fit into facing pockets on the attaching bracket so that the clasp can be rotated about the legs into a downward, or engaged, position and to an upward, or disengaged, position. When the clasp is in the downward or engaged position, fingers of the clasp fit over the handle ring of the propane tank and hold it in place on the gas grill. When the tank clasp is raised and moved to the disengaged position, the fingers disengaged the handle ring of the tank so that the tank fuel line can be disconnected from the grill and the tank removed to be refilled. The attaching bracket has a stop for holding the tank clasp in the engaging position. The tank clasp is generally made of formed wire and is flexible so that it can be pressured in a direction to disengage it from the stop and move pass the stop allowing the tank clasp to moved to the retracted, disengaged, position. When the clasp is in the disengaged position, the tank can be removed from the gas grill frame and taken to a remote location to be refilled.